This invention concerns dispensing talcum powder or talc onto a cue stick, used to minimize friction when stroking the cue stick during execution of a shot. Simple shakers are usually used, which are very messy since the talc is not dispensed just onto the cue stick but is scattered around. Also, the shakers are usually placed upright on a table or shelf when not in use, and are often inadvertently tipped over to spill the talc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a talc dispenser which is able to deposit talc directly onto the cue stick shaft with a minimum of spillage.
It is a further object to provide such a dispenser which is convenient to use and to store when not in use, and which prevents talc spillage even when not in use.
These objects and others which will become apparent upon a reading of the following specification and claims are achieved by a dispenser including a two section housing formed with a tubular passageway extending therethrough, sized to receive the shaft of a cue stick inserted therein. A talc storage cavity in the housing is able to be filled with talc through a capped port. The through passageway is lined with a rolled up tube of soft bristle or fibrous material, with an enclosed space defined between the backing mat and the housing passageway which has a perforated backing mat. The perforated mat allows talc dispensed into the enclosed space around the outside of the backing mat to pass through the mat and be dispersed into the bristles and then directly deposited onto the cue stick shaft inserted in the tubular passageway which rubs against the bristles. Small quantities of talc are selectively dispensed into the enclosed space to be subsequently deposited onto the cue stick shaft.
Dispensing of small quantities of talc into the enclosed space may be selectively carried out by turning of a rotational metering rod received in the housing having one end which extends into a metering passage extending between the storage chamber and the tubular closed space. The metering rod end normally blocks talc from passing out of the storage chamber, but has a pair of oppositely located flats there aligned with the passage. The rod can be manually rotated by an opposite exposed end protruding out of the housing to cause a small amount of talc to fall into a small clearance space above a flat, and then be captured and carried around as the rod is rotated to be dumped into the tubular enclosed space surrounding the bristle tube mat. The talc can be distributed along the enclosed space by shaking the dispenser, and passes through the backing mat perforations to be dispersed into the bristles and thereafter directly deposited onto a cue stick shaft.
The through passageway can advantageously have a series of lengthwise ribs which engage the outside of the bristle material tubes to create the enclosed space between the housing and the outside of the bristle material tube.
Two mating housing sections are fit together with a stepped perimeter and secured with screws.
The housing also has a recess in which a chalk holder is received, holding a chalk block, with a scuff pad also mounted on the housing.
The housing is itself held in a holder which has a belt clip to be conveniently held on the user""s belt.